The Blang Dynasty
An idea suggested during March of 2017 for a pirate space empire. There's a mini comic showcasing their sibling rivalry. History Pirate Lord Blang was once a name feared across the galaxy, associated with power and cunning. As enigmatic as he was terrifying, Blang conquered planets and unified dozens of pirate clans under his banner. If his enemies resisted, he gave them his fury. If they served, he gave them his favour. In the end, he morphed what was once a chaotic assortment of thieves, deserters, and cut-throats into a controlled pirate empire. At some point in his campaign, he met a woman. The details of this relationship are fuzzy at best, because he has since made sure to purge everything except for his private records. All that anyone knows now is that he's old, reflective, and has two grown twin children with no present mother. After years of half-hearted conquests, Blang has made it known that he wants to retire, leaving his empire to a worthy successor. When he appears now, he's always cloaked in shadow. His twin children, Tennoc and Quaslan, both believe themselves to be the obvious choice, and each one tries to prove their worthiness over the other in a near constant battle for approval. As a result, the empire has unofficially split into two factions with leaders playing against themselves as much as each other. Each one has a part of what made Blang's campaigns so successful, but neither have proved worthy enough so far to have the whole package, and only their dad can ever smack any sense into them when they go overboard. They regularly get into skirmishes with the Galactic Peace Keepers. Tennoc Tennoc's way of ruling revolves around charming his enemies and setting up the perfect dramatic circumstance. He wants to duel, one-on-one, no tricks, on top of a crashing ship, or swing from ropes through windows. He's fixated on the romanticised vision of being a dashing pirate lord, and this often gets in the way of actually being successful at his primary goals. On the bright side, he's good at planning, duelling, and being a father to his men when he's not being insufferably theatrical. Quaslan Quaslan's focus is instead on the stories of her father as a ruthless conqueror, feared throughout the systems. She'll crack any man, woman, or planet who gets in her way, and will happily shoot a man in the face if he annoys her. Unfortunately, she has a habit of sabotaging herself with impatience and violence, and striking fear into her own men and messengers. Of the two, she has a much greater tendency toward grudges. She wants to be feared, not loved. The Seven Admirals When Blang came to power, he raised his seven most prestigious and successful pirate captains into his imperial administration. With Blang serving as their fleet admiral and emperor, the Seven took roles as an advisory council and government body within Blang space, as well as lesser admirals in their own right. Some captains took to this change better than others. Now each of the Seven come together to vote on important issues, each with their own agendas to push and their own worlds to govern. As with all governments, pirate-born or otherwise, squabbling is an inevitability. *'Axellus “Turncoat” Vels' - A staunch member of the Galactic Peace Keepers, before being set up and betrayed by a corrupt peer in the organization. After escaping imprisonment, Axellus fled to pirate-controlled space, where capture and further circumstances forced him into a life of piracy himself. He quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with, especially with his access to inside information on the PKs, and when his ship’s captain died, the crew elected him to take over. Now he wants nothing more than to exact vengeance on the ones who wronged him. Since becoming a member of the council, Axellus’s loyalty is often called into question, as he still maintains a lawful demeanor and votes to minimize crimes or casualties in all instances. He also has a reputation for being a brooding, all-work-no-play type. *'Dangerous Vizz' - Vizz never wanted to be a pirate. Who would? All of that fighting and dying and being in the cross-hairs of every bounty hunter or government... it was enough to make her mandibles itch. Nevertheless, in her efforts to swindle some privateers by claiming to be a feared pirate, she accidentally wound up becoming an actual pirate. Every effort to enact her usual policy of “swindle and skedaddle” led to even more notoriety and renown. Against all odds, and her own attempts at escape or self-sabotage, she’d always wind up doing something to endear the pirates more to her. Even those who caught on could not deny that her luck was... dangerous. Her council votes always shoot for the safest and most cautious solutions. Some call it pragmatic, others call it cowardly, but none can deny that she seems to come out on top... *'Kalana the Whisperer' - Beginning her career as a smuggler and secret political ally to Blang, Kalana worked from the shadows until showing her hand in one of the last major battles. She was already a planetary governor, and kept herself at arm’s reach from any legal actions until Blang’s rule could be seen as “legitimate”. Kalana is something of an unknown factor in most engagements, as you never know who she has in her pockets, or if by working against her wishes you’re doing exactly what she wanted in the first place. Even so, her ambitions lie in standing behind the throne, not on it. On the council, Kalana’s votes are subtle plays of power at all times, even when they appear casual. She’s highly diplomatic, and enjoys every moment of making others uncomfortable with that. *'Lanchabrian “Storm Front” Chastori' - Lanchabrian is the youngest of the Seven, a being of gas and energy who wants nothing more than endless, glorious combat. He began his career as a legal privateer, but when the war stopped, he didn’t. Of the pirate admirals eventually assimilated into Blang’s full fleet, the Storm Front was the last, only surrendering after a pitched battle and defeat in man-to-man combat with Blang himself. Even with this surrender formalized, Lanchabrian’s spirit never truly broke. Every day he threatens independence, and every day someone needs to talk him down. When he shows up to council, he votes for anything that will lead to the greatest personal battles, without regard for greater politics. All he wants is to be the greatest admiral of the fleet. *'Weird Oul' - Oul is only a pirate because his spiritual beliefs involve making a lot of friends, whether or not they care to be so. With a host of psionic powers and a bundle of pamphlets, he struck a reign of terror in his home sector. In the end, his assimilation into the empire came when Blang, presented with the opportunity to hear the holy words of supreme camaraderie, offered to hear them in person. By the end of the forty-six hour talk, thoroughly exhausted, the old warlord offered to take the pamphlets and read the rest on his own time. Thrilled, Oul never went far after that. Oul’s council position is mostly a gesture of appeasement. He spends the entire time trying to sell pamphlets, and votes for whatever action takes the most new friends into the ranks, even if he has to scoop them up from space himself. *'Old Dag Han' - Once the first mate of Blang himself – and, it is to be said, the first mate of several pirates before that – Dag Han is perhaps one of the oldest things anyone on the council knows. He is at times deeply wise, and at other times absent-minded enough to forget where he parked his starship. His body having long since failed him, Dag Han is a mess of machinery by this point, with an ageing brain being all which remains of his former self. In many ways, he is like the great uncle of the Seven, always with stories to tell. Dag Han firmly believes that co-rule by the twins is the best thing for the empire, and does his best to vote such as to please both of them. *'Photssh the Ghost' - Hailing from an ocean world, Photssh is the quiet, cheerful spy and saboteur of the council. Stealth is his specialty, and he acts as a scout for the fleet without complaint. Indeed, his silence, punctuated only by the occasional joke or chipper comment, renders him one of the hardest of the seven to “read” or even notice at times. Photssh can control his own skin colour, which is what allows him to turn invisible. He rarely shares anything about himself or answers questions with much more than a gesture or a shrug. Actual words are so rare from him that they give even Kalana a moment of pause. On the council, Photssh votes in service of the empire almost every time, but there’s never any true understanding of what or why he’s voting for. Any questioning of his reasons, if it returns any answer at all, is limited to a few matter-of-fact words in response. Or a joke, which is even more infuriating. Category:Characters Category:Groups Category:Villain Category:Alien Category:Comics